I've been playing through Crysis 2 [360] over the past week or so. I haven't completed the game entirely yet (though I must be close to the end), but wanted to get a thread going now, anyways, as I think I've already formulated my opinion on it.
IMHO the game is very competent, definitely okay/good, but doesn't achieve real 'greatness'. It has its fair share of issues and gameplay that just doesn't hold my attention or excitement as much as I wish it did.
When I FIRST started playing the game I was very impressed. The graphics are phenomenal, of course. The gunplay sounds and feels/controls very powerful and satisfying. The approach to battle is fairly unique with more of a focus on tactical strategy, stealth, and toying with A.I., and the battlefields themselves are very well designed, feeling very natural/organic/realistic in their wide-open layouts that also make great use of vertical space (both above and below ground).
However, after but a few hours of the same rinse and repeat gameplay, I've become much less impressed. It really starts to sink in that the game has little in the way of variety; not many different enemy types to speak of, weaponry that isn't all that different or interesting, a city environment that remains very similar throughout, and minor depth of gameplay outside of pure combat - which WOULD be fine, except that the combat itself becomes very monotonous and isn't especially fun after awhile, I found. Enemies can always be overcome in a similar fashion, and since the game is so linear with little else to do besides shoot dudes, and because there is little else interesting in the way of new and different enemy or environment types, or story (more on that later), the game has become kind of a chore. I hate to say it's 'repetitious', because all games are, but I think what I'm really feeling is that the gameplay is simply boring. To be frank, I doubt Crysis 2 would have received such high praise from most people (85% average review scores) if it weren't for the mesmerizingly beautiful graphics.
After taking a linear path to a fresh combat area, you'll follow this same basic pattern throughout the entire game: survey the battlefield, 'tag' your enemies so you can tell where they are at all times, devise a plan of attack (or go in guns blazing, whatever), then proceed to murder everything until you can move to the next area. The actual 'murdering' itself isn't particularly challenging or interesting. Yes, you can use your special combat suit's stealth camouflage or armor enhancement abilities to add a little flare, but it's not enough. I'm not finding much fun in the gameplay that really drives me to keep playing, as it's fairly simple to wipe each battlefield clean of the enemy. There's really not much to it. I stopped even bothering to survey and tag after a short while, as even on 'Veteran' difficulty (the second hardest) I have no trouble outmaneuvering and out-gunning the A.I. at every turn simply by juggling my camo/armor abilities back and forth effectively. Perhaps I should have played on the hardest mode, but I suspect even then the core 'gameplay loop' still wouldn't be interesting enough for me.
The A.I. itself is a VERY mixed bag. Sometimes they behave extremely impressively and intelligently, flanking you, sneaking up behind you, and generally hunting you down. At other times, they act completely brain dead, not seeing you when directly in front of them, getting stuck on objects, constantly walking into walls, running around aimlessly, etc. Again, at first I was mega impressed by the enemy behaviours, but as I kept playing and noticing more and more errors, the positive impression started to wear off.
Likewise, apart from just the A.I., the rest of the gameplay elements contain a lot of bugs and glitches as well. I'm not going to sit here typing out every one of them, but trust me, there's a bunch and they're very noticeable, and not only graphical glitches but actual mechanics that don't perform as they should sometimes. It's a real bummer that greatly detracts from the overall experience to me.
The cinematic first-person portions of the narrative presentation are a spectacle to behold, but apart from those moments I'm not finding the story particularly gripping. It's your typical one-man-army-stopping-an-alien-invasion kind of thing, with some industrial espionage/intrigue involving your super suit. Not that I usually care much about stories in video games, but it WOULD be a nice bonus at least if I could mention the story as a positive element that might be enough to compel a gamer to continue through to the end even if the gameplay is lacking. Unfortunately, I can't in this case.
Despite the probably overly negative impressions I'm giving here, if you're a really big FPS fan then I suspect you'll actually like Crysis 2 quite a bit as it is 'good' at the very least. However, if you're like me and only have the tolerance for the cream-of-the-crop FPS's with a little more depth and substance to their experiences, you could give Crysis 2 a miss. I'm really not much interested in continuing to play it, but I will anyways because I'm just a weirdo like that, lol (must... finish... game!)
Have you guys played through it yet? If so, share your thoughts! Or to those who have yet to dip in, feel free to ask any questions!
IMHO the game is very competent, definitely okay/good, but doesn't achieve real 'greatness'. It has its fair share of issues and gameplay that just doesn't hold my attention or excitement as much as I wish it did.
When I FIRST started playing the game I was very impressed. The graphics are phenomenal, of course. The gunplay sounds and feels/controls very powerful and satisfying. The approach to battle is fairly unique with more of a focus on tactical strategy, stealth, and toying with A.I., and the battlefields themselves are very well designed, feeling very natural/organic/realistic in their wide-open layouts that also make great use of vertical space (both above and below ground).
However, after but a few hours of the same rinse and repeat gameplay, I've become much less impressed. It really starts to sink in that the game has little in the way of variety; not many different enemy types to speak of, weaponry that isn't all that different or interesting, a city environment that remains very similar throughout, and minor depth of gameplay outside of pure combat - which WOULD be fine, except that the combat itself becomes very monotonous and isn't especially fun after awhile, I found. Enemies can always be overcome in a similar fashion, and since the game is so linear with little else to do besides shoot dudes, and because there is little else interesting in the way of new and different enemy or environment types, or story (more on that later), the game has become kind of a chore. I hate to say it's 'repetitious', because all games are, but I think what I'm really feeling is that the gameplay is simply boring. To be frank, I doubt Crysis 2 would have received such high praise from most people (85% average review scores) if it weren't for the mesmerizingly beautiful graphics.
After taking a linear path to a fresh combat area, you'll follow this same basic pattern throughout the entire game: survey the battlefield, 'tag' your enemies so you can tell where they are at all times, devise a plan of attack (or go in guns blazing, whatever), then proceed to murder everything until you can move to the next area. The actual 'murdering' itself isn't particularly challenging or interesting. Yes, you can use your special combat suit's stealth camouflage or armor enhancement abilities to add a little flare, but it's not enough. I'm not finding much fun in the gameplay that really drives me to keep playing, as it's fairly simple to wipe each battlefield clean of the enemy. There's really not much to it. I stopped even bothering to survey and tag after a short while, as even on 'Veteran' difficulty (the second hardest) I have no trouble outmaneuvering and out-gunning the A.I. at every turn simply by juggling my camo/armor abilities back and forth effectively. Perhaps I should have played on the hardest mode, but I suspect even then the core 'gameplay loop' still wouldn't be interesting enough for me.
The A.I. itself is a VERY mixed bag. Sometimes they behave extremely impressively and intelligently, flanking you, sneaking up behind you, and generally hunting you down. At other times, they act completely brain dead, not seeing you when directly in front of them, getting stuck on objects, constantly walking into walls, running around aimlessly, etc. Again, at first I was mega impressed by the enemy behaviours, but as I kept playing and noticing more and more errors, the positive impression started to wear off.
Likewise, apart from just the A.I., the rest of the gameplay elements contain a lot of bugs and glitches as well. I'm not going to sit here typing out every one of them, but trust me, there's a bunch and they're very noticeable, and not only graphical glitches but actual mechanics that don't perform as they should sometimes. It's a real bummer that greatly detracts from the overall experience to me.
The cinematic first-person portions of the narrative presentation are a spectacle to behold, but apart from those moments I'm not finding the story particularly gripping. It's your typical one-man-army-stopping-an-alien-invasion kind of thing, with some industrial espionage/intrigue involving your super suit. Not that I usually care much about stories in video games, but it WOULD be a nice bonus at least if I could mention the story as a positive element that might be enough to compel a gamer to continue through to the end even if the gameplay is lacking. Unfortunately, I can't in this case.
Despite the probably overly negative impressions I'm giving here, if you're a really big FPS fan then I suspect you'll actually like Crysis 2 quite a bit as it is 'good' at the very least. However, if you're like me and only have the tolerance for the cream-of-the-crop FPS's with a little more depth and substance to their experiences, you could give Crysis 2 a miss. I'm really not much interested in continuing to play it, but I will anyways because I'm just a weirdo like that, lol (must... finish... game!)
Have you guys played through it yet? If so, share your thoughts! Or to those who have yet to dip in, feel free to ask any questions!
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